Packaging assembly with rotatable container therein



Sept. 7, 1965 c. E. PALMER 3,204,759

PACKAGING ASSEMBLY WITH ROTATABLE CONTAINER THEREIN Filed Nov. 29, 1965 CHARLES E. PALMER Zg//ZV A TTORNEY United States Patent 3,204,759 PACKAGING ASSEMBLY WHH RTATABLE CNTAINER THEREN Charles E. Palmer, Somers, Conn., assigner to Monsanto Company, a corporation of Delaware Filed Nov. 29, 1963, Ser. No. 326,690 Claims. (Cl. 206-45.'3l)

The present invention relates to packaging, and, more particularly, to a packaging assembly having a rotatable container received within a windowed carton.

In the marketing of many items, such as medicines and cosmetics, the product often is placed in an inner container such as a glass or plastic bottle of generally circular cross section. To protect the bottles and to facilitate stacking and storage, the bottles are usually placed in a rectangular outer carton fabricated from paperboard sheet material. Particularly with medicines and other items which are required by law `to print certain information concerning the contents upon each container, it would be highly desirable to provide a window in the outer container through which the label on the bottle may be viewed in order to minimize duplication of printing and to permit inspection of the label on the bottle without opening the outer container.

In such a packaging assembly, the round inner container tends to rotate Within the outer carton and thus move the label or other printed portion from registry with the window. Various means have been proposed for preventing rotation of bottles within outer containers, including relatively expensive, special container-carton configurations; but there has remained a need for a simple and economical non-rotating packaging assembly adapted to high-speed packaging lines.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a packaging assembly having a generally round container received in a carton wherein relative rotation of the round container is limited.

It is also an object to provide such a packaging assembly which is durable and which may be quickly and easily :assembled from readily available and relatively inexpensive components.

Other objects and advantages will be readily apparent from the following detailed specication and the attached drawings wherein:

FIGURE l is ia perspective view of a packaging assembly embodying the present invention with a portion of the carton broken away and the top end wall closure thereof opened for clarity of illustration;

4FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary sectional view in elevation to an enlarged scale of the container of FIGURE 1 with the end wall closure in closed position;

FIGURE 3 is `a fragmentary section View 'along the line 3-3 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a perspective fragmentary view of a packaging assembly illustrating another embodiment of the present invention with the top end wall closure opened and the container being shown in full line through the transparent plastic window for clarity of illustration; and

FIGURE 5 is a similar fragmentary perspective View of a packaging assembly illustrating still another embodiment of the present invention.

It has been found that the foregoing and related objects may be readily attained in a packaging assembly having a carton utilizing a frame of relatively rigid and relatively opaque sheet material with a tubular body and end wall closure members at the ends thereof and a window aperture in the body thereof. A container of generally round cross section is received within the carton and has a predetermined peripheral portion registering with the window aperture for viewing therethrough and yan end portion adjacent and generally parallel to one end wall of the carton. The container is held against relative rotation by a band 3,204,759 Patented Sept. 7, 1965 member which has a rst portion adhered to the end portion of the round container and a second portion adhered to the inwardly facing surface of an end wall closure member of the aforementioned adjacent end wall of the carton. This inner surface is in parallel relationship With respect to the end portion of the round container in the closed position of the adjacent end wall closure member and the band member has a fold therein between the first and second portions thereof and being reversed upon itself, the shear resistance between the band member and the end closure and between the band member and the end wall of the round container limiting rotation of the round container with respect to the carton to maintain the desired peripheral portion of the round container in registry with the window aperture.

Most desirably, the adjacent end wall to which the band member is :adhered is provided by a plurality of generally parallel extending end wall closure members and another of the end Wall closure members is interposed between the rst and second portions of the band member to minimize relative twisting of the band member portions and retard peeling thereof from the round container and the end wall closure member.

In its more prevalent aspect, the carton will be of polygonal, and most generally rectangular, cross-section although the invention may be employed to retard rotation of a round container within a round carton. In a rectangular carton, the operative end wall is most desirably provided by an end wall closure panel hingedly connected to a side wall panel and a pair of dust flaps hingedly connected to side wall panels adjacent to the first side wall panel. To provide a releasable closure which may be opened and closed repeatedly, the end wall panel may have a .tuck iiap at its free end which frictionally engages with the body and dust flaps. However, a destructive closure also may be utilized by adhesively engaging the end wall panel to the dust aps or to another end wall panel hingedly connected to the opposite side wall. Either the top or bottom end wall may be employed, although engagement of the band and the top of the container is usually more easily effected and ensured.

The window aperture may extend into a plurality of side wall panels and may have a window of synthetic plastic sheet material extending thereacross and secured to the inside surface of the carton to seal the inside there-of. Particularly, when the window aperture is of a large size and weakens the strength of the carton, the window is most idesirably employedv and fabricated from semi-rigid sheet material so that the bonding of the fra-me and window will provide a composite unit of relatively high strength.

The band member is most conveniently tape with a pressure-sensitive adhesive upon its adhering surface. In this manner, the band member may be readily adhered to the carton and container and may be readily disengaged therefrom for removal of the container.

Turning in detail to FIGURES l-3 of the attached drawings, therein is shown a packaging assembly embodying the present invention and including a rectangular carton generally designated by the numeral 2 fabricated from relatively rigid and opaque sheet material such as paperboard within which is received a round or generally cylindrical container generally designated by the numeral Z2.

The container 2 is comprised of side Wide panels 4, 6, 8 .and -lii defining a tubular body and end ywall closure members generally designated by the numerals I2, 13. Both end wall closure members 12, 13'may employ similar construction or one may be destructively sealed and the other hingedly and releasably engaged to permit repeated opening and closing in accordance with conventional practice and constructions. In the illustrated embodiment, the end wall closure member 13 includes the end wall panel 14 hingedly connected to the upper end of the side Wall panel with a tuck iap 15 at its free end and dust flaps 16, 18 hingedly connected to the side wall panels 4, 8. Side Wall panel 6 is provided with a Window aperture 20 therein for viewing the container 22.

As best seen in FIGURE 1, the generally cylindrical `container 22 is shown for purposes of illustration as an aspirin bottle, with the label 23 ABC Aspirin on its periphery registering with the window aperture 20 for viewing therethrough. The end portion or cap 24 of bottle 22 is adjacent and generally parallel to the upper end wall of the container 2 formed by folding the panel 14 3nd tia-Qps 16, 18 into closed position as seen in FIGURES and The label 23 of the container 22 is maintained in registry with the window 20 by a continuous band member generally designated by the numeral 26 and conveniently provided by a length of tape with a pressuresensitive adhesive upon one surface. Prior to folding the panel 14 and flaps 16, 18 into closed position over the cap 24 of the bottle 22, a rst portion 28 of the band member 26 is adhered to the upper surface of the cap 24 and a second portion 30 of the band member 26 is adhered to the inwa-rdly facing surface of the end wall panel 14.

Upon folding the panel 14 and flaps 16, 18 and locking them in closed position with tuck flap portion 15, the inner surface of end wall panel 14 is in generally adjacent, parallel relationship with respect to the end portion or cap 24 of the bottle 22 and the band member 26 is folded over or reversed upon itself, and, as seen in FIGURES 2 and 3, dust aps 16, 18 are interposed between the two portions 28, 30 of the band member 26.

The shear resistance between the band member 26 and the cap 24 at the portion 28 and the end ap 14 at the portion 30 in the generally overlying relationship of the portions 28, 30 substantially limits rotation of the bottle 22 within the carton 2, thereby maintaining the desired portion of the aforementioned label 23 in registry with the window aperture 20. The dust aps 16, 18 interposed between portions 28, 30 of the band member 26 tend to hold portions 28, 30 flat against the cap 24 and end wall panel 14, thus susbtantially preventing the band member 26 from twisting or pulling away from the cap 24 and end wall panel 14. The flexibility inherent in the band member 26 allows the bottle 22 to move up and down within the carton 2 due to shock or vibration without disengagement from the end wall panel 14 or cap 24.

Turning now to FIGURE 4, therein is fragmentarily illustrated an alternative embodiment of the present invention having a rectangular carton generally designated by the numeral 102 and a generally cylindrical container 122.-

The carton 102 similarly has side Wall panels 104, 106, 108 and 110 defining a tubular body and end wall closure members, the illustrated end wall closure member being generally designated by the numeral 113 and comprised of the end Wall panel 114 with its tuck flap 115 and the dust aps 116, 118. A Window aperture 120 is provided in the body of the carton and extends into the side wall panels 104, 106 and 108 so as to expose a major portion of the periphery of the round container 122 received therein and the label 123 thereon. y

yIn this embodiment, a window 132 of semi-rigid synthetic plastic sheet material of larger dimension than the window aperture 120 extends thereacross with marginal portions of the frame about the aperture 120 overlapping the corresponding side margins of the window 132. The window 132 has opposed notches 134 therein at the fold lines between the aperturedpanels and the frame has inwardly projecting opposed ingers'136 extending in overlapping relationship beyond the margins of the notches 134 to conceal them from external view. The

window 132 is securely bonded to the frame along the overlapping margins by adhesive indicated by the stippling 138 which terminates adjacent the notches 134 and ngers 136 so that the overlapping surfaces of the ngers 136 and window 132 are free from adhesive to permit relative slippage therebetween. As pointed out in applicants copending application Serial Number 191,018, tiled April 30, 1962, and entitled Containerrand Method of Making Same, this permits the free ends of the fingers 136 to bow or eX outwardly to accommodate the thickness of the plastic sheet material of the window 132 at the fold lines.

This rm bonding of the semi-rigid window 132 and frame in the illustrated embodiment is highly desirable in a carton having a large window aperture such as that illustrated in order to obtain optimum composite action therebetween While accommodating the thickness of the semi-rigidplastic sheet material at the fold line. Alternatively, the windowf132 may be secured to the frame at the side wall panel 106 only so that it may slip relative to the wall panels 104, 108 to accommodate the thickness of the material at the fold lines as described in applicants copending application Serial` Number l300,330, led August 6, 1963, and entitled Window Container and Blanks and Method for Forming Same. This will provide desirable composite action between the window and frame but not to the optimum degree obtained by the bonding to all apertured panels as in the illustrated embodiment. The adhesive may be provided by an interposed layer of adhesive or it may be provided bythe plastic sheet material itself through solvent or heat-sealing to the paperboard frame.

Prior to folding the end wall panel 114 and dust flaps 116, 118 into closed position, a band member generally designated by the numeral has its center portion 142 adhesively engaged to the container cap 124, one end portion 144 engaged to dust ap 116 and the other end portion 146 engaged to dust ap 118. Dust flap 118 is rst folded after which dust ilap 116 and end wall panel 114 are folded, resulting in dust ap 118 and its band porti-on 146 being interposed between band member portions 142, 144.

Although in this embodiment the band member 140 is more diicult to apply and more material is used than in the previously described embodiment, the band member 140, when applied with some slack, provides two hinged portions resulting in relatively great 4flexibility for up and down movement of the container 122 within the carton 102. Anchoring of the band member 140 at its center to the container 122 and at both ends to the closure member 113 holds the adhesive on the band member 140 in shear to provide relatively high resistance to ro tation.

Still another embodiment of the present invention is fragmentarily illustrated inVFlGURE 5 with the carton 2 and bottle 22 being identical to those in the aforedescribed embodiments of FIGURES 1-3. In this embodiment, the band member generally designated by the numeral 248 has a rst portion 250 adhered to cap 24 and a second portion 252 adhered to dust ilap 18, with dust flap 16 being interposed between the band member portions 250, 252 when the end wall panel 14 and dust aps 16, 18 are folded into closed position.

Thus -it is seen that the present invention provides a simple and extremely effective container assembly wherein relative rotation between a carton and a generally round container received therein is etfectively eliminated, thus assuring that a desired peripheral portion of the round container will remain in registry with a window aperture in the carton. The packaging assembly is durable and may be quickly and easily assembled from readily available and relatively inexpensive components to provide highly advantageous results at a minimum of cost.

Having thus described the invention, I claim:

1. A packaging assembly comprising a carton having a frame of relatively rigid and relatively opaque sheet material with a tubular body and end wall closure members hingedly connected thereto at the ends thereof, and providing end walls therefor, said body having a window aperture therein; a container of generally round crosssection received within said carton, said round container having a predetermined peripheral portion registering with said window aperture for viewing therethrough and having an end portion adjacent and extending generally parallel to one end wall of said carton; and a foldable band member having a rst portion adhered to said end portion of said round container and a second portion adhered to the inwardly facing surface of an end wall closure member of said one end wall, said inwardly facing surface of said end wall closure member being in parallel relationship with respect to said end portion of said round container in the closed position of said end wall closure member and said band member having a fold therein between said first and second portions and being reversed upon itself, the shear resistance between the band member and the inwardly facing surface of said end wall closure member and between the band member and the end wall of said round container limiting rotation of said round container with respect to said carton to maintain said peripheral portion in registry with said window aperture.

2. The packaging assembly of claim 1 wherein said one end wall is provided by a plurality of generally parallel extending end wall closure members and another end wall closure member is interposed between said first and second portions of said band member to minimize relative twisting of said band member portions.

3. The packaging assembly of claim 1 wherein said band member is a tape with a pressure-sensitive adhesive upon its adhering surface.

4. The packaging assembly of claim 1 wherein said carton has a window of synthetic plastic sheet material secured to the inner surface of said one side wall panel and extending across said window aperture.

5. A packaging assembly comprising a generally rectangular carton of relatively rigid and relatively opaque sheet material having a tubular body with four side wall panels and end wall closure members hingedly connected to said body at the ends thereof, said end closure members at one end thereof including an end wall panel hingedly connected to one of said side Wall panels and a pair of dust flaps hingedly connected to side wall panels adjacent said one side wall panel, said end wall panel and dust flaps folding in cooperation to provide an end wall for said one end of said rectangular carton, one of said side wall panels having a window aperture therein; a container of generally round cross section received within said carton, said round container having a predetermined peripheral portion registering with said window aperture for viewing therethrough and having an end portion adjacent and extending generally parallel to said end wall of said one end of said polygonal container; and a foldable band member having a first portion adhered to said end portion of said round container and a second portion adhered to the inner surface of one of said end wall closure members of said one end wall, said end wall closure members being in adjacent, generally parallel extending relationship with respect to said end portion of said round container when said flaps and end wall panel are folded to form said end wall of said polygonal container, another of said end wall closure members being interposed between said first and second portions of said band member, said band member having a fold therein between said first and second portions and being reversed upon itself, the shear resistance between said band member and said one end Wall closure member and said end portion and said interposed closure member cooperating to limit rotation of said container with respect to said rectangular carton to maintain said peripheral portion in registry with said window aperture.

6. The packaging assembly of claim S wherein said second portion of said band member is adhered to said end wall panel and wherein both of said dust aps are interposed between said first and second portions of said band member.

7. The packaging assembly of claim 5 wherein said first portion of said band member is intermediate the length thereof and said second portion of said band member is at one end thereof and adhered to one of said dust flaps and wherein said band member includes a third portion at the other end thereof adhered to the other of said dust flaps, said other dust flap being interposed between said first and second portions of said band member.

8. The packaging assembly of claim 5 wherein said second portion of said band member is adhered to one of said dust flaps, the other of said dust flaps being interposed between said first and second portions of said band member.

9. The packaging assembly of claim 5 wherein said band member is a tape with a pressure-sensitive adhesive upon its adhering surface.

10. The packaging assembly of claim 5 wherein said carton has a window of synthetic plastic sheet material secured to the inner surface of said one side Wall panel and extending across said window aperture.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,325,224 7/ 43 Bryant 206-45-3l 2,757,793 8/ 5 6 Deitz 20G-45 .3 1 2,844,300 7/ 5 8 Guyer 229-87 2,913,105 1 1/ 59 Brunsing 206-65 2,973,086 2/ 61 Thompson 206-45.31 3,006,461 10/61 McGinnis 206-45.31

THERON E. CONDON, Primary Examiner. 

1. A PACKAGING ASSEMBLY COMPRISING A CARTON HAVING A FRAME OF RELATIVELY RIGID AND RELATIVELY OPAQUE SHEET MATERIAL WITH A TUBULAR BODY AND END WALL CLOSURE MEMBERS HINGEDLY CONNECTED THERETO AT THE ENDS THEREOF, AND APERTURE THEREIN; A CONTAINER OF GENERALLY ROUND CROSSSECTION RECEIVED WITHIN SAID CARTON, SAID ROUND CONTAINER HAVING A PREDETERMINED PERIPHERAL PORTION REGISTERING WITH SAID WINDOW APERTURE FOR VIEWING THERETHROUGH AND HAVING AN END PORTION ADJACENT AND EXTENDING GENERALLY PARALLEL TO ONE END WALL OF SAID CARTON; AND A FOLDABLE PARALLEL TO ONE END WALL OF SAID CARTON; AND A FOLDABLE BAND MEMBER HAVING A FIRST PORTION ADHERED TO SAID END PORTION OF SAID ROUND CONTAINER AND A SECOND PORTION ADHERED TO THE INWARDLY FACING SURFACE OF AN END WALL CLOSURE MEMBER OF SAID ONE END WALL, SAID INWARDLY FACING SURFACE OF SAID END WALL CLOSURE MEMBER BEING IN 